Taxpayers Sunburned Again by Solar Stimulus

Taxpayers are Stuck With a Growing Tab for Bankrupt Stimulus-Backed Companies

• Yet another stimulus-backed solar company announced its bankruptcy last week, just the latest embarrassment for the Democrats’ stimulus “bets.”
• The Solyndra bankruptcy and the others which followed have become symbols of the Democrats’ failed economic agenda and its cruel costs for working families.
• While Democrats’ crony capitalism has been a terrible deal for taxpayers, it has proved quite lucrative for top Obama bundlers.

Yet another stimulus-backed solar company announced its bankruptcy last week, just the latest embarrassment for the Democrats’ stimulus “bets”:

“ANOTHER SOLYNDRA? DOE LOAN RECIPIENT CLOSING”: (Andrew Restuccia, “Another Solyndra? DOE: Loan Recipient Closing,” Politico, 7/3/2012)

ABOUND SOLAR FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY AFTER GETTING $70 MILLION IN STIMULUS FUNDS: “A solar manufacturing company that received nearly $70 million from the Obama administration is shutting down and filing for bankruptcy protection, the Energy Department said Thursday.

“Abound Solar won approval in 2010 for a $400 million loan guarantee to aid construction of solar manufacturing facilities in Longmont, Colo., and Tipton, Ind. But amid growing problems for domestic solar panel manufacturers, the company began missing milestones laid out by the department in its loan guarantee agreement.” (Andrew Restuccia, “Another Solyndra? DOE: Loan Recipient Closing,” Politico, 7/3/2012)

“THE THIRD DOE-BACKED COMPANY TO DECLARE BANKRUPTCY”: “Abound is the third DOE-backed company to declare bankruptcy. The first was Solyndra last September. Beacon Power, an energy storage company, filed for bankruptcy protection the following month.”

OBAMA SAID STIMULUS WAS INTENDED TO “TAKE BETS” ON NOW-BANKRUPT COMPANIES LIKE SOLYNDRA: “But that’s exactly what the loan guarantee program was designed by Congress to do, was to take bets on these areas where we need to make sure that we’re maintaining our lead.” (“News Conference by the President,” The White House, 10/6/2011)

EXPERTS: COLLAPSE “NOT SURPRISING AT ALL”: “ ‘This is not surprising at all,’ Anthony Kim, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in New York, said in an interview. ‘They were trying to sell to a competitive, over- supplied market with limited production. That keeps costs high.’” (Christopher Martin and Jim Snyder, “Abound Failure Revives Debate Over Obama Solar Policies,” Bloomberg, 6/29/2012)

The Solyndra bankruptcy and the others which followed have become symbols of the Democrats’ failed economic agenda and its cruel costs for working families:

$535 MILLION LOST ON NOW-BANKRUPT SOLYNDRA: (Jim Snyder and Brian Wingfield, “Solyndra $535 Million Loan Guarantee Mostly Lost to Taxpayers, Chu Tells Lawmakers,” Bloomberg, 11/17/2011)

BEACON POWER GOES BANKRUPT AFTER $43 MILLION OBAMA STIMULUS LOAN: (Tom Hals and Roberta Rampton, “Beacon Power Bankrupt; had U.S. backing like Solyndra,” Reuters, 10/31/2011)

OBAMA-BACKED AMONIX LAID OFF 200 WORKERS EARLY THIS YEAR, RECEIVED $5.9 MILLION TAX CREDIT IN 2010: (Neil Munro, “More Solyndra-Style Failure: Obama-tied Amonix Lays Off Most of Company,” The Daily Caller, 1/30/2012)

OBAMA’S DOE LENT $14.5 BILLION OVER 27 PROJECTS, “TURNED A BLIND EYE TO THE RISKS THAT HAVE BEEN GLARINGLY APPARENT”: “By the expiration of § 1705 program in September 2011, the DOE had approved 27 projects totaling more than $14.5 billion in guaranteed loans. Inexplicably, DOE management has turned a blind eye to the risks that have been glaringly apparent since the inception of the program.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

“REPORT: ENERGY LOANS COULD COST $3B” FROM “HIGH-RISK” GREEN PROGRAMS: (“Report: Energy Loans Could Cost $3B,” Associated Press, 2/10/2012)

PRICE TAG FOR FAILED STIMULUS: $831 BILLION: (“CBO’s Estimates of ARRA’s Economic Impact,” Congressional Budget Office, 2/22/2012)

STIMULUS LENDING PRACTICES ACTUALLY HURT GREEN ENERGY

DOE SPENT TAXPAYER DOLLARS BACKING “MULTIPLE SOLAR” COMPANIES AND “ADDED TO A HEATED GLOBAL COMPETITION” THAT WAS “ALREADY CREATING AN EXCESSIVE SUPPLY OF SOLAR PANELS”: “DOE should have averted some of the risks it created in its portfolio by diversifying its investments across renewable energy technologies.  DOE’s investment in multiple solar manufacturers added to a heated global competition that was already creating an excessive supply of solar panels.  These manufacturers were forced to compete both against each other and other solar companies worldwide.  As a result, the average selling price per watt for solar panels has continued its decline.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

MANY SOLAR COMPANIES “CAN ONLY SURVIVE THROUGH CONTINUED PROVISION OF SUBSIDIES” PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS: “Despite Solyndra’s fall, there remains excessive competition in the manufacturing of solar panels. Just this past month, both Abound Solar and First Solar cut solar panel production globally, reflecting this excessive supply and heated competition. While U.S. solar generation projects can take advantage of falling panel prices to offset a share of the impact of reduced power prices, it appears solar manufacturers that suffer both supply and demand shocks can only survive through continued provision of subsidies. Unfortunately for these manufacturers, there is growing evidence that the subsidies are drying up.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

“RATINGS AGENCIES FULLY INFORMED THE DOE” OF RISKS OF “EXCESSIVE GLOBAL COMPETITION”: “The ratings agencies fully informed the DOE of their expectations for falling panel prices due to excessive global competition.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

“APPARENT CURE TO THE OVERSUPPLY IS THE OUTRIGHT SHUTTERING OF A LARGE SHARE OF SOLAR PANEL MANUFACTURERS”—SUBSIDIZED BY TAXPAYERS: “Both Germany and the U.S. appear to be phasing out subsidies over the coming years, and this should eventually help reduce the excessive supply; however, it does so at the expense of the subsidized solar firms. In other words, the apparent cure to the oversupply is the outright shuttering of a large share of solar panel manufacturers worldwide.” (“The Department of Energy’s Disastrous Management of Loan Guarantee Program,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 3/20/2012)

While Democrats’ crony capitalism has been a terrible deal for taxpayers, it has proved quite lucrative for top Obama bundlers:

STIMULUS CRONY CAPITALISM? WASHINGTON POST AUDIT FOUND $3.9 BILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY WENT TO “21 COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO FIVE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION STAFFERS AND ADVISERS”: “During the next three years, the department provided $2.4 billion in public funding to clean-energy companies in which Wagle’s former firm, Vantage Point Venture Partners, had invested, a Washington Post analysis found. Overall, the Post found that $3.9 billion in federal grants and financing flowed to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and advisers.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST? “INDUSTRY HAD A HUGE STAKE” IN WHICH FIRMS RECEIVED GOV’T SUPPORT: “At the same time, their industry had a huge stake in decisions about which companies would receive government loans, grants and support.” (Carol Leonnig and Joe Stephens, “Venture Capitalists Play Key Role in Obama’s Energy Department,” The Washington Post, 2/14/2012)

DOE EMPLOYEE USED PRIVATE E-MAIL TO SEND CONFIDENTAIL INFORMATION TO A COMPANY THAT GOT A $1.4 BILLION LOAN GUARANTEE: “An Energy Department employee used a private email address to send confidential information to a company that went on to get a $1.4 billion partial loan guarantee from the agency, according to one of a series of documents that House Republicans plan to highlight Tuesday.” (Andrew Restuccia, “Panel Unveiling Docs on DOE Aid Recipients,” Politico, 6/19/2012)

SOLYNDRA AND BRIGHTSOURCE ENERGY PUSHED HARD FOR LOANS:

TOP OBAMA BUNDLER GEORGE KAISER “WEIGHED ASKING WHITE HOUSE TO SAVE SOLYNDRA” AS IT WAS FAILING: (Matthew Mosk, “Emails: Obama Donor Weighed Asking White House to Save Solyndra,” ABC News, 11/9/2011)

KAISER WAS SOLYNDRA’S BIGGEST INVESTOR AND PLOTTED TO GET WHITE HOUSE HELP TO GET SECOND STIMULUS LOAN AND GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS: (Joe Stephens, “Solyndra E-mails Show Obama Fundraiser Discussed Lobbying White House,” The Washington Post, 11/9/2011)

STEVE SPINNER’S SOLYNDRA ROLE: DOE OFFICIAL AND “OBAMA FUNDRAISER PUSHED SOLYNDRA LOAN” DESPITE PLEDGE TO RECUSE HIMSELF; HIS WIFE WAS SOLYNDRA LOBBYIST: (Matthew Daly, “Obama Fundraiser Pushed Solyndra Loan,” Associated Press, 10/7/2011

BRIGHTSOURCE ENERGY GOT $1.6 BILLION LOAN GUARANTEE, NOW FACING FINANCIAL STRUGGLES AFTER CANCELLING ITS IPO: (Dana Hull, “BrightSource Shelves IPO, Walks Away from Public Markets,” The San Jose Mercury News, 4/18/2012)

THE REVOLVING DOOR OF SPECIAL FAVORS: FORMER BRIGHTSOURCE CEO WENT INTO OBAMA ADMIN, SOUGHT SPECIAL TREATMENT FROM TOP OBAMA OFFICIALS: “Republicans alleged at a hearing Wednesday that Bryson, while chairman of BrightSource Energy, planned to lobby the White House for speedy finalization of a $1.6 billion loan guarantee for the Ivanpah solar generation project in California. … Woolard shared with Silver a draft version of a letter from Bryson to then-White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley calling for finalization of the company’s loan guarantee for Ivanpah, a huge solar power plant being constructed in California’s Mojave Desert.” (Andrew Restuccia, “House GOP’s Energy Dept. Loan Probe Could Ensnare Two Cabinet Secretaries,” The Hill, 5/16/2012)